The U.S. has been without several stars at this summer's Gold Cup, so which fringe players have stepped up to fight for a place at next year's World Cup?

Although the idea of overloading the midfield makes sense, dropping one of the team’s fastest and most agile players into an unnatural position is puzzling, especially when the midfield of Tillman, Quinn Sullivan and Brendan Aaronson doesn’t offer much in the way of pace.

Matt Freese made a major mistake in Sunday's Gold Cup win over Haiti, but USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino waved away doubts over the NYCFC goalkeeper.